HighTechRedNeck
Well-known member
I started in film photography long ago but began using the Fuji S2 for digital back when they first hit the market. That meant buying Nikon lenses and flashes as the Fuji was based around a Nikon mount. As time went by I wanted something faster and more responsive than the Fuji. Trying to preserve my investment of lenses, I tried a Nikon D100 but returned it as totally unsatisfactory. Then when the D70 came out, I tired one and was pleased enough to make the purchase. I was delighted with the improved performance and did not mind selling the lethargic Fuji S2. I also tried a Fuji S3 but it was nothing to write home about in the performance department either.
It’s hard not to notice that a lot of people are shooting Canon bodies but every time I tried one in a store, it just seemed like the most confusing control layout. It felt like something designed by Congress. When asking a salesman how to make some simple adjustment or settings, they would fumble around and ask another clerk and finally they would get out the manual and start reading. I just thought “what a complicated piece of .....” Whoever designed the control layout loved to use their right index finger or had three of them on that hand.
On the other side of the equation my Nikon was simple and intuitive. Want to delete a file? Just press the trash button once, a menu comes up and asks are you sure? Then press the trash button again to confirm. That’s it. On Canons you hit the trash button with your left thumb and that brings up a three part menu selection that you must now navigate with the wheel under your right thumb. Upon making your menu selection, you must then move your right thumb to the button located in the center of the wheel and press to confirm. Whew! That is just one example! Ergonomically and intuitively the Nikon just blows away the Canon bodies. Last year I bought a D200 Nikon. It had a body that felt sensual and responsive but I found it to be very disappointing in other ways. Straight out of the box it couldn’t focus on the side of a barn and stayed at Nikon NY for more than a month waiting on parts to fix it and is no better now than my D70 in regards to focusing. It never has measured up to my expectations. I wanted more responsiveness, resolution and less noise than the D70 but I found the D200 was a grave disappointment.
It became increasingly harder to ignore the image results coming out of people I knew that were shooting Canon bodies. They had far less noise and fantastic color / shadings under the most difficult lighting circumstances. The Nikon metering was just too easily fooled in backlit situations, etc. I could never achieve some of the things my Canon counterparts were unless I took lots of time to meter the scene carefully and possibly add some balanced fill flash. What was their secret? They didn’t impress me as better photographers with technical insight or creative vision. In fact they seemed almost indifferent about camera settings and exposures. When I used their Canons the images didn’t look particularly unique. Yet I continued to see all these professionals on the internet that were getting such spectacular results out of Canon systems with rich lush colors. What on earth was their secret and why would they choose to use a system that a blind man could see is a control function mess?
Well now I know the secret. I recently watched a video of a wedding photographer named Jessica Claire showing some Photoshop adjustments she uses. Her (Canon 5D) image example was a terribly under exposed backlit photo of a bride and groom. She proceeded to twist the daylights out of curves and levels in Photoshop, something that would have made one of my Nikon images explode with noise. Having witnessed that, I decided to hold my nose and buy a Canon 5D. I tried a friend’s 85mm f1.8 lens on it outdoors using available light. The images straight out of the camera were lack luster for the most part but neither was the exposure system easily fooled by brightly lit areas. In general the 5D gave you a civil exposure that did not go ape and overexpose when there were lots of highlights and likewise did not underexpose the shadow areas. I took the images into Photoshop and found to my amazement that you can literally pull and twist them like taffy without seeing terrible noise erupt in the shadow areas or have the highlights bloom and simply blow out. It is terrific in this respect and these were jpeg files no less! The camera focuses fairly well but in all others ways the Camera is a pain. It is a glorified point and shoot that simply does not do anything particularly bad to the image it generates and retains enough information integrity that you can manipulate it to your hearts content in Photoshop. The attached photo is of my granddaughter and typifies what can be done with the 5D images.
Surprisingly enough the Nikons faired better than the Canon under studio lighting with more color punch and contrast. Maybe I don’t have enough experience with the Canon yet so the jury is still out on this issue. But for affordable image quality, especially under available light conditions, the 5D is probably pick of the Canon litter but it’s a mangy lot based on the handling and ergonomics. Have I missed anything here Canon and Nikon aficionados?
It’s hard not to notice that a lot of people are shooting Canon bodies but every time I tried one in a store, it just seemed like the most confusing control layout. It felt like something designed by Congress. When asking a salesman how to make some simple adjustment or settings, they would fumble around and ask another clerk and finally they would get out the manual and start reading. I just thought “what a complicated piece of .....” Whoever designed the control layout loved to use their right index finger or had three of them on that hand.
On the other side of the equation my Nikon was simple and intuitive. Want to delete a file? Just press the trash button once, a menu comes up and asks are you sure? Then press the trash button again to confirm. That’s it. On Canons you hit the trash button with your left thumb and that brings up a three part menu selection that you must now navigate with the wheel under your right thumb. Upon making your menu selection, you must then move your right thumb to the button located in the center of the wheel and press to confirm. Whew! That is just one example! Ergonomically and intuitively the Nikon just blows away the Canon bodies. Last year I bought a D200 Nikon. It had a body that felt sensual and responsive but I found it to be very disappointing in other ways. Straight out of the box it couldn’t focus on the side of a barn and stayed at Nikon NY for more than a month waiting on parts to fix it and is no better now than my D70 in regards to focusing. It never has measured up to my expectations. I wanted more responsiveness, resolution and less noise than the D70 but I found the D200 was a grave disappointment.
It became increasingly harder to ignore the image results coming out of people I knew that were shooting Canon bodies. They had far less noise and fantastic color / shadings under the most difficult lighting circumstances. The Nikon metering was just too easily fooled in backlit situations, etc. I could never achieve some of the things my Canon counterparts were unless I took lots of time to meter the scene carefully and possibly add some balanced fill flash. What was their secret? They didn’t impress me as better photographers with technical insight or creative vision. In fact they seemed almost indifferent about camera settings and exposures. When I used their Canons the images didn’t look particularly unique. Yet I continued to see all these professionals on the internet that were getting such spectacular results out of Canon systems with rich lush colors. What on earth was their secret and why would they choose to use a system that a blind man could see is a control function mess?
Well now I know the secret. I recently watched a video of a wedding photographer named Jessica Claire showing some Photoshop adjustments she uses. Her (Canon 5D) image example was a terribly under exposed backlit photo of a bride and groom. She proceeded to twist the daylights out of curves and levels in Photoshop, something that would have made one of my Nikon images explode with noise. Having witnessed that, I decided to hold my nose and buy a Canon 5D. I tried a friend’s 85mm f1.8 lens on it outdoors using available light. The images straight out of the camera were lack luster for the most part but neither was the exposure system easily fooled by brightly lit areas. In general the 5D gave you a civil exposure that did not go ape and overexpose when there were lots of highlights and likewise did not underexpose the shadow areas. I took the images into Photoshop and found to my amazement that you can literally pull and twist them like taffy without seeing terrible noise erupt in the shadow areas or have the highlights bloom and simply blow out. It is terrific in this respect and these were jpeg files no less! The camera focuses fairly well but in all others ways the Camera is a pain. It is a glorified point and shoot that simply does not do anything particularly bad to the image it generates and retains enough information integrity that you can manipulate it to your hearts content in Photoshop. The attached photo is of my granddaughter and typifies what can be done with the 5D images.
Surprisingly enough the Nikons faired better than the Canon under studio lighting with more color punch and contrast. Maybe I don’t have enough experience with the Canon yet so the jury is still out on this issue. But for affordable image quality, especially under available light conditions, the 5D is probably pick of the Canon litter but it’s a mangy lot based on the handling and ergonomics. Have I missed anything here Canon and Nikon aficionados?
)
[friendly ribbing here, folks].
